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Of all the spaniel breeds it is the
Clumber spaniel that has suffered at the hands of the show fraternity in
the UK and Ireland. So much so, that they have degenerated almost
entirely into a show dog. This is sad because they were once regarded as
the most useful and easily trained spaniel breeds. In Ireland their
demise as a working spaniel breed is almost total.
At the end of the 19th
century the Clumber spaniel was attributed with having “a superior nose
and great perseverance in both hunting and retrieving.” In reality they
never were a fast or stylish working dog, being more methodical, plodding
dog. Perhaps that suited the shooting gentry of that era.
By the turn of the 21st
century the only place to see the Clumber spaniel is on the show bench.
Named after its originator, the Duke of Newcastle and Clumber, the
contemporary 19th century reports would indicate a much lighter
and more agile dog than that seen in toady’s show rings. |
